How long to start napping?
My son just started daycare last week. He is almost 11 months old. I am a teacher and I took a Leave of Absence last year and was home with him. He had really bad colic until about 4 months old and we struggled hardcore with naps until about 7 months. He has NEVER fallen asleep in his stroller because there is too much to look at! Now, he takes 2 1-2 hour naps a day, in his crib in his room where it is fairly dark and quiet.
So, I knew naps would be a bit of an issue when we started daycare and I warned the teacher. They had me fill out a form with his schedule and stuff. I totally understand that his schedule may need to be tweaked based on what the other kids are doing and I am fine with it. He goes MWF (my mom watches him T/Th) and just went half days last week to ease him in.
He didn't nap at all last week. Again, I am not shocked because I know he is a tough napper. He has two girls in with him Mondays and Fridays and just one other girl on Wed. They are 10 and 12 months old. They are just taking one nap after lunch. I asked the teacher about it and she says she just reads their cues and he was way too wired at 9:30ish for a nap. Should I make more of an issue with this (the one nap thing). Part of me thinks he won't nap because he is too over tired. The other part of me thinks he is only a month away from a year when babies start working towards one nap anyway.
If you started your baby in DC a little later, how long did it take for them to get the nap thing? She has been rocking him every time I pick him up, so I know she is trying. I told her just to rock him for a few minutes and then put him down. He might whine, but he likely won't cry. But, maybe this is disruptive to the other two? She is going to switch his crib with the full time girl since she can nap easily and then he will be more in the dark. Right now his crib is right under the window.
He seems to really like it so far, I am very happy with the small ratio but I am not sure how to take the nap thing. My friend told me her kids go to Kindercare and they start at one nap at 6 months, so maybe I am overreacting? Thoughts?
Re: How long to start napping?